Nonclassical trajectories in head-on collisions

A. Kumar; T. Krisnanda; P. Arumugam; T. Paterek

doi:10.22331/q-2021-07-19-506

Nonclassical trajectories in head-on collisions

A. Kumar^1,2, T. Krisnanda², P. Arumugam¹, and T. Paterek^2,3,4

¹Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India
²School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
³Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, University of Gdańsk, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
⁴MajuLab, International Joint Research Unit UMI 3654, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Sorbonne Université, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University

Published:	2021-07-19, volume 5, page 506
Eprint:	arXiv:2011.06470v2
Doi:	https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2021-07-19-506
Citation:	Quantum 5, 506 (2021).

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Abstract

Rutherford scattering is usually described by treating the projectile either classically or as quantum mechanical plane waves. Here we treat them as wave packets and study their head-on collisions with the stationary target nuclei. We simulate the quantum dynamics of this one-dimensional system and study deviations of the average quantum solution from the classical one. These deviations are traced back to the convexity properties of Coulomb potential. Finally, we sketch how these theoretical findings could be tested in experiments looking for the onset of nuclear reactions.

Popular summary

The unavoidable existence of a finite momentum variance implies that quantum mechanical wave packets cannot be stopped completely. Therefore the situations where classical particles stop, like head-on collisions, are natural candidates to probe the emergence of nonclassicality. We demonstrate this phenomenon in the paradigmatic Rutherford scattering experiment.

► BibTeX data

@article{Kumar2021nonclassical,
  doi = {10.22331/q-2021-07-19-506},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2021-07-19-506},
  title = {Nonclassical trajectories in head-on collisions},
  author = {Kumar, A. and Krisnanda, T. and Arumugam, P. and Paterek, T.},
  journal = {{Quantum}},
  issn = {2521-327X},
  publisher = {{Verein zur F{\"{o}}rderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften}},
  volume = {5},
  pages = {506},
  month = jul,
  year = {2021}
}

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Cited by

[1] Ankit Kumar, Tanjung Krisnanda, Paramasivan Arumugam, and Tomasz Paterek, "Continuous-Variable Entanglement through Central Forces: Application to Gravity between Quantum Masses", Quantum 7, 1008 (2023).

[2] A. Kumar, T. Krisnanda, P. Arumugam, and T. Paterek, "Closest approach of a quantum projectile", Journal of Physics Conference Series 1850 1, 012074 (2021).

The above citations are from Crossref's cited-by service (last updated successfully 2023-06-09 11:27:02) and SAO/NASA ADS (last updated successfully 2023-06-09 11:27:03). The list may be incomplete as not all publishers provide suitable and complete citation data.

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